Church's are pretty outstanding. Crockett & Jones and Carmina are also very good, in that same price range. John Lobb, Edward Green, in the next bracket up. Alden and Allen Edmonds in the next price range down.

Church's are pretty outstanding. Crockett & Jones and Carmina are also very good, in that same price range. John Lobb, Edward Green, in the next bracket up. Alden and Allen Edmonds in the next price range down.

I own two pairs of Allen Edmonds and have been very happy with them. I have a pair of bit loafers (Verona) and Wingtips (Chesters). The build quality for the cost is excellent. Getting ready to send the Chesters in to be recrafted.

If you want to spend some money, I highly recommend Prada's classic leather oxfords. No fussing around here, just excellent Italian craftsmanship. $650, but I have been wearing them for over 2 years and they were comfortable from day one, no break-in needed, and I haven't needed to re-sole them or anything.

If you want to spend some money, I highly recommend Prada's classic leather oxfords. No fussing around here, just excellent Italian craftsmanship. $650, but I have been wearing them for over 2 years and they were comfortable from day one, no break-in needed, and I haven't needed to re-sole them or anything.

This. In general stay away from the high end fashion labels, quality isn't close to what it should be for what you are paying.

osiris gave a great start in his initial response here.

I can vouch for Edward Green, Crockett and Jones and Church's all being great shoes, no personal experience with the others mentioned. You really should to go to their shops to find out what last your foot goes with before going down that road though.

I think Allen Edmonds are the best made factory shoe available. Not the most expensive - just the best made. Their shankless and fully welted design alone puts them above anyone else, IMO. I sold men's shoes in college and promised myself that one day when I felt like I could afford it, I buy them for myself.

I'll break it down for you simple minded people. VWvortex. The VW stands for Volkswagen. And when you create a forum, admins can create sections within the forum. This forum has a section for general car chit-chat. The car lounge. So you see, even though it's a VW forum, you can still discuss other topics.

You could go balls out and get some Gaziano & Girling. I just got my first pair of Carminas, albeit boots, I'm very excited about them. I also plan to treat myself to a pair of Crockett and Jones by end of this year.

Maybe not the best pictures, but here is some inspiration, for good or bad. Some dress shoes that I have collected over the last 4-5 years. A well-made shoe will last many years; I have a rubber liner applied to the leather sole at my local shoe guy (cobbler is so out of style).

To be honest, I am not fond of the rounded toe look. However, the Allen Edmonds that people post in this thread look quite appealing.

The black shoe in the following picture is from 2003 or 2004. I don't wear it too often since it's a bit tight on my foot.

Johnston & Murphys will last you a lifetime with proper care and style selection.

I was going to suggest Johnston and Murphy as well. I have a couple of pairs that are ~12 years old, and they look like they did the day I got them. They wear very well, and are some of the most comfortable shoes I own, dress shoes or otherwise.

I haven't heard about the decline in quality, but I also haven't purchased a new pair of dress shoes in years

Following OG's lead, here is some more for inspiration/guidance. Mix of things in here from Johnston & Murphy to Church's to Edward Green.

For some backup to the earlier statements recommending to stay away from Prada/etc, the two pairs on the bottom row at the far right are both Prada. I stopped bothering to use trees in them after four years of ownership because they just didn't hold up well to time. The two pairs of shoes on the far left of the bottom row and the far right in the top row were purchased before the Pradas were and at this point have been worn just as much.